College baseball: Buckeye's sister fulfills promise

Ohio State left fielder Jacob Howell heard the polite applause that evolved into a rousing ovation from Buckeyes fans sitting behind the dugout.

Ohio State left fielder Jacob Howell heard the polite applause that evolved into a rousing ovation from Buckeyes fans sitting behind the dugout.

Funny, he thought, there's nothing going on but players warming up for the first game of the Big Ten baseball tournament.

Howell peeked into the stands last Wednesday in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was staggered. He saw a miracle.

There was his younger sister Hannah, who 12 days earlier lay in a hospital bed with a life-threatening aneurysm, making her way through the crowd to greet him.

Howell jumped the fence and embraced Hannah.

"Even when Hannah was heavily sedated in the hospital, she'd say, 'Jake, I'm going to watch you play,' " he said. "I was overwhelmed with pride for my sister getting that applause."

After that, the baseball part was easy. Howell got the winning single in the 11th inning of a 10-9 victory over Minnesota in the third round Friday, and the Buckeyes went on to win the tournament.

"By getting Hannah back, we feel like we have a second chance," Howell said of the family. "(God's) plan is shining through."

Doctors won't permit Hannah to travel to College Station, Texas, to watch Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes will play Louisiana-Lafayette at 2 p.m. Friday.

"I'm going to listen to the games any way I can," she said. "I'll follow on Gametracker and OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Hopefully the Buckeyes can win the tournament and get back to Columbus and play."

Baseball was the last thing Jacob was thinking about after his fiancée, Pami Thompson, called to tell him what had happened to Hannah on May 11. He was ready to fly to Minneapolis for a series against Minnesota.

Hannah collapsed at her summer job at the Country Club of Ashland. Paramedics thought she had a seizure.

"We got to Samaritan Hospital and Hannah was talking to us," said Heidi Howell, Hannah's mother. "Then she had the headache of her life. Then she really got sick. They said they needed to do something quickly."

Hannah was transported to Ohio State Medical Center. By the time she got there, 30 family members, friends and supporters, which included Jacob's Bible study group, were waiting.

The good news was that Hannah's aneurysm -- a ruptured blood vessel -- was on the lining of the brain and not in the middle of the brain. The risk of stroke, though, was high. Doctors operated four hours to insert a titanium coil near the area to facilitate healing.

"Each day she got better and became more and more aware of her surroundings," Jacob said.

Big brother, though, thought Hannah's vow to watch him play was driven by medication.

"The day out of surgery Hannah asked when Ohio State's next game was," Heidi said. "When Ohio State made the Big Ten tournament, she said, 'I'm going to Michigan.' "

The words come hard for Hannah, and not because she's emotional. The attention embarrasses her.

"I am very much a fighter," said Hannah, who just completed her sophomore year at the University of Findlay as a strength-and-conditioning major. "I wanted to be there. I really love Jake. We have a great relationship. Oh, there's a little arguing here and there. But we're so close."

Jacob seconds those feelings.

"No one can describe the bond you have for a sibling," he said. "I can't describe the sorrow in my heart over what happened. That was the worst day of my life. I was an absolute wreck. We could have lost her very easily."